To the Editor:

As a resident of the Village and town of Potsdam, I oppose adding fluoride to our drinking water because I believe that it is a Band-Aid attempt for community public health that fails to address the underlying problems.

It is clear that dental health in St Lawrence County is a problem. Almost 40% of 3rd graders have untreated cavities. But this problem is confounded by several issues. We have too few dentists in the region for our population and many of those don’t take Medicaid, resulting in only 34% of children with Medicaid who had an annual preventative dental visit. And, these elementary school children are among the most overweight and obese in the state, suggesting that oral health might be compromised by diet choices.

And with that sad state of oral health in our region, I am advocating that we don’t add fluoride to water. Yes, we clearly need better public initiatives for dental health, but fluoride in drinking water does not reach much of the population in need.

While the current decision is considered a village issue, political boundaries are irrelevant when we consider our area’s population. Addressing oral health problems through our drinking water will impact fewer than 50% of the households in the town of Potsdam. Can we really feel comfortable with a solution that does not offer the benefits attributed to fluoride in water to our neighbors?

This Band-Aid solution does not address the needs of people who do not drink public water, who cannot find a dentist to treat their dental hygiene needs, and for whom access to healthy, non-sugary foods is a challenge.

Fluoride in our drinking water does not address the underlying problems we face. Better solutions would include Dental health clinics, fluoride treatments through the schools and other community dental health solutions. Yes, these are expensive, but they will do a much better job of reaching all of our neighbors who struggle with dental health problems.

Data from: https://www.health.ny.gov/statistics/chac/indicators/, https://www.health.ny.gov/environmental/water/drinking/pws_contacts/map_… and https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/ny/PST045217.

Susan E. Powers

Potsdam

*Original letter online at http://northcountrynow.com/letters/opinion-fluoride-wont-fix-oral-health-problem-says-potsdam-resident-0242577

See past articles on the Potsdam fluoridation issue:

Sept 18, 2018 Watertown Daily Times Village of Potsdam to continue fluoridating the water
Sept 18, 2018 North Country Now Village of Potsdam approves controversial fluoridation of municipal water by 4-1 vote
Sept 18, 2018 North Country Now Opinion: Colton man makes five point plan to ‘Keep Potsdam Smiling’
By Jerry Bartlett, Colton
Sept 16, 2018 North Country Now Medical and dental professionals urge Potsdam to continue fluoridating water; vote could be Monday
Sept 11, 2018 North Country Now Opinion: Fluoride won’t fix oral health problem, says Potsdam resident
By Susan E. Powers, Potsdam
Sept 11, 2018 North Country Now Opinion: Potsdam woman wonders if we should medicate public via water supply
By Paula Youmell, Potsdam
Sept 8, 2018 Watertown Daily Times Potsdam residents voice opinions on water fluoridation as the village plans to vote on matter on Sept. 17
Sept 5, 2018 North Country Now Fluoridation meeting draws crowd in Potsdam, residents suggest alternative dental health programs
Sept 5, 2018 Watertown Daily Times Potsdam residents voice opinions on water fluoridation as the village plans to vote on matter on Sept. 17
Aug 23, 2018 Watertown Daily Times Potsdam Village board hears professional and public comments on fluoridating the water
Aug 21, 2018 Watertown Daily Times Letter: Potsdam needs to consider facts on fluoride
By Dean Laubscher
Aug 21, 2018 North Country Now Potsdam meeting draws out those in support of fluoridation
Aug 11, 2018 Watertown Daily Times Letter: Potsdam: Fluoridated water has proven health benefits
By Stephen A. Jennings, Jefferson County Public Health Service
Aug 9, 2018 Watertown Daily Times Editorial: Chew on this: Potsdam should continue adding fluoride to its water supply
Aug 5, 2018 Watertown Daily Times Potsdam gets engineering report on fluoride
Aug 5, 2018 North Country Now Potsdam village board will vote on fluoridation before end of September
July 29, 2018 Watertown Daily Times Potsdam forum focuses on choice about fluoridation
July 19, 2018 North Country Now Fluoridated water opponent to speak at Potsdam town meeting July 26
June 3, 2018 Watertown Daily Times Potsdam water quality flagged with violations, then rectified; fluoride decision awaits research
June 2, 2018 North Country Now Most Potsdam village respondents say services worth the cost
April 20, 2018 North Country Now Potsdam will study fluoridation system with help from grant funding
March 8, 2018 Watertown Daily Times Potsdam Village Trustees discuss fluoridation
Jan 30, 2018 Watertown Daily Times Letter: Look into effects fluoridation has on body
By Dean Laubscher
Dec 6, 2017 Watertown Daily Times Potsdam receives legal advice on water source, fluoridation
Oct 3, 2017 Watertown Daily Times Potsdam holds public hearing on fluoridation
Sept 24, 2017 Watertown Daily Times Potsdam: Local dentists express support for water fluoridation
Sept 11, 2017 Watertown Daily Times Potsdam: Village trustee meeting brings comments on fluoride
Aug 27, 2017 Watertown Daily Times Potsdam trustees consider whether to end fluoridation
Aug 10, 2017 North Country Now Letter: Fluoride expert willing to help Potsdam with issue
By Paul Connett
July 30, 2018 North Country Now Potsdam village might stop fluoridating water, might not; study sought